Text, one version only, translated from the 1595 Latin 5th Add., 1595 Latin, 1597 German 5th Add., 1601 Latin, 1602 German, 1602 Spanish, 1603 Latin, 1606 English, 1608/1612 Italian, 1609/1612 Latin and the 1609/1612/1641 Spanish edition. Note that in 1595L5Add., 1595L, 1597G5Add., 1601L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612 Latin and 1609/1612/1641S. Hassia is first described, and then Henneberg, except for the 1606E edition, which starts with Henneberg. Also note that most names in most editions of the genealogy described in the text do not have numbers like Wilhelm the first, Wilhelm the second and so on. These have been inserted in the translation to reduce the chance of confusion:
95.1. {1595L5Add{The principality of Henneberg.
95.2. The territory and bounds of the princes of Henneberg, a part of East Franconia, how large and wide it was, you may see in our chorographical map, the limits and bounds of which are like this: in its East {1606E has instead{West}1606E instead, erroneously} and North [side] it has Thüringen and the great forest of this country {1606E only{which is called Thüringer Wald}1606E only} (the top of which divides Thüringen from Frankenland), in the South it is confined by the river Main, and the bishoprics of Bamberg and Würzburg. Moreover, the Western {1606E instead{Eastern}1606E instead erroneously} part is enclosed by that great mountain which the people call Die Rhon {1606E only{or Rosn}1606E only}.
95.3. On the same side it also has the diocese of Fulda and the province of Hessen. This country is wonderfully full of deer, wild fowl, fish and other such things [as are] necessary for the maintenance of man's life. It also has some metal mines, especially for iron, of which large quantities are exported to foreign countries to the great profit and commodity of the inhabitants. It is watered in various places by many different fountains, [water]heads or springs of the river Visurgis which in these parts is called die Werra but more properly in some other places die Weser which is indeed confirmed by the name of the abbey Vesser. {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{Franciscus Irenicus and Wolfgang Lazius truly believe it to have been named after Wasser}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G} {1606E only {which in German means as much as water in English}1606E only}.
95.4. About the beginnings and origin of this house or family of Hennenberg, by reason of the negligence of the writers and historians of those times, we can determine nothing with certainty, besides this, that in the time of Attila and Charles the Great some authors make mention of the princes of Hennenberg, {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{who were also dukes of Frankenland and burggraves of Würzburg}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G}. So again in the time of Heinrich the first, emperor of Germany, Gottwald and Otto of this house of Henneberg served valiantly in defence of the empire {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{against the assaults and attacks of the Ugri}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G}.
95.5. Similarly, the Boppones, {1603L{two}1603L} {1606E only{learned}1606E only} men of this family, in the years of Christ 941 and 961 were bishops of Würzburg, and governed that see under great support and praise from everyone. But the true pedigree of these princes is derived from Boppo, who in the year of our Lord 1078 on the side of emperor Heinrich the fourth fought in a battle between him and Rudolph the Bavarian near the city of Melrichstadt, and valiantly fighting was slain on the [battle]field.
95.6. He was succeeded by his son Gottebald, the first founder of the abbey of Vesser, {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{for the monks of the order of the brotherhood of the Præmonstratenses. After him followed his son Berthold, then Boppo the second, then Boppo the third, all succeeding one after the other in a straight line. This Boppo the third had by his second wife Jutta of Thüringen a son; Herman, whose son Boppo the fourth died, leaving no offspring behind him. But by his first wife Elizabeth of the family of the princes of Saxony he had Heinrich, who had a son Heinrich the second, Herman the second, and Berthold the second.
95.7. Heinrich had as his son Boppo the first, whose son Berthold the third died without a son. But after Herman the [following] princes, [namely] Heinrich the second, Herman the third, Frederick the first, Georg the first and finally Frederick the second descended from one another, successfully governing this province. This Frederick had a son [called] Herman, who by his wife Margaret of the family of Brandenburg had two sons, Berthold the fourth and Albert, both of whom died in the year of our Lord 1549 and left no issue behind them.
95.8. Then succeeded Berthold the third of the line of Berthold the second, third son of Heinrich the first. He, for his singular virtues, wisdom experience, and excellent qualities in other ways, was in the year 1310 after Christ's incarnation by Heinrich of Lutzelbourg the emperor with general consent of the whole company of electors installed as one of the [elector] princes of the empire. And after that, because of similar virtues, and because he was in the management of all kinds of business a most prudent, faithful and fortunate man, Ludwig the fourth, the next successor in the empire was highly appreciated and esteemed.
95.9. In this time this whole province, as it is published here in our chorographical map, was subjected to him and to other princes and dukes of Henneberg then living. But Heinrich his son died without having male offspring, [and] the greatest part of this country by the marriage of his three daughters Catharina, Sophia and Elizabeth fell to the marquises of Meissen, burggraves of Nurnberg and princes of Würtemburg, and when the last two sold their portions, the bishop of Würtemburg enlarged his diocese considerably. Johan, the second son of Berthold the first through his wife Adelheid of the house of Hessen, had by Elizabeth of the family of Luchtenburg a son named Heinrich the fourth, who by Mechtild or Baden, a daughter to the marquis of Baden, had Wilhelm the first, who by his wife Anna of Brunswick had Wilhelm the second, who by Katharina, countess of Hanau had a son Wilhelm the fourth, begotten from his wife Margaretha, daughter or the duke of Brunswick.
95.10. This Wilhelm had by his wife Anastasia, daughter of Albert, prince elector of Brandenburg, seven sons and six daughters, namely Wilhelm and Kaspar who died in their infancy, Johan, abbot of Fulda, Wolfgang and Christopher, who died as bachelors, Georg Ernest and Boppo the sixth. This Boppo, after the death of his first wife Elizabeth, daughter to the marquis of Brandenburg, married Sophia, daughter to the prince of Lüneburg. He died on the fourth of March in the year of our Lord 1574, leaving no [male] issue behind him.
95.11. He was a very excellent, prudent, magnanimous and courteous prince}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G}. That other [son] Georg Ernest, {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{after the death of his wife Elizabeth, daughter to the duke of Brunswick, married Elizabeth daughter to the prince of Würtemberg, and finally}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G}, on the twenty-seventh day of December in the year of our Lord God 1583, gave in to nature and died aged seventy-three as the last prince of that stock or family.
95.12. {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{The description of this province of}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G} Henneberg, {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G{as it is depicted here}not in 1597G5Add & 1602G}, is now subjected to various princes. The greatest part of it [now] belongs to the duke of Saxony, the rest to the bishop of Würzburg and the landgraves of Hessen. If anyone desires to have a more elaborate and exact description of this stock and family, let him learn it from the Genealogy of M[r.] Sebastian Glaser, former chancellor of this principality of Henneberg}1595L5Add, 1595L, 1597G5Add, 1601L, 1602S, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end here}.
95.13. {1595L5Add{Hessen {1606E only{or The landgraviate of Hessen}1606E only}.
95.14. The country of Hessen, which was once a duchy, now graced with the title of a landgraviate, was formerly possessed by the Catti, as almost all writers of our time generally and truly believe. Only Albertus Crantzius, to my knowledge, is of a different opinion, for he exerts himself to make the world believe that these Catti were those people who are now called Saxons.
95.15. This province has on its East Thüringen, on its South Frankenland, on its West Westfalen, and on its North the duke of Brunswick [and] the bishop of Minden, and other princes as its near neighbours. It is a country very fertile in all manner of things necessary for the maintenance of man's life. It has no vines, except on that side which borders the Rhine. Marburg and Kassel are the chief and principal cities of this country. The latter [city] is adorned with the princes court, {1606E only{and gatherings of nobles, gentlemen and other brave men following and attending them}1606E only. The other [city of Marburg] is graced with an excellent university, {1606E only{well frequented by students from all kinds of places in the area}1606E only}.
95.16. In this landgraviate there are also various other counties or duchies, [such] as Katzenelnbogen, Ziegenheim, Nida and Waldeck, of all of which the landgrave considers himself now the lord. But listen what Helius Eobanus Hessus, that worthy poet says in a certain congratulatory poem of his, {not in 1597G5Add & 1602G which end here{written and dedicated to Philip, the landgrave of this country, at the occasion of the victory achieved by him at Wittemberg, {not in 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{where he incidentally also speaks as follows about the nature and situation of this province, as well as about the manners of its people}not in 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S}.
95.17. {in English 1606E and in Italian as running text; the English edition first gives the Latin original, followed by a translatioon in English; the Italian 1608/1612I edition gives the translation into Italian only{Qualis Hyperboreum prospectans Thraca Booten
Gradiui domus ad Rhodopen, Hemumque nivalem
Circumfusa iacet, gelides assueta pruinis,
Gignit in arma viros duratos frigore, quiq.
Aut Hebrum, Nessumque bibunt, aut Strymonis vndas:
Talis & ipsa situ, talis regione locorum
Et fluuijs silvisque frequens, & montibus altis
Hassia: naturæ similes creat alma locorum
Ceu natos in bella viros, quibus omnis in armis
Vita placet: non vlla iuuat sine Marte, nec vllam
Esse putant vitam, quæ non assuerit armis.
Quòd si tranquillæ vertantur ad otia pacis,
Otia nulla terunt sine magno vana labore:
95.18. Aut dura patrios exercent vomere colles,
Æquatosq. solo campos rimantur aratris
[second column:](Namque & planicies segetum fœcunda patentes
Explicat innumeras, & plena messe colonos
Ditat, & ipsa sibi satis est,) aut ardua sylvæ
Lustra petunt, canibusq. feras sectantur odoris,
Venatu genus assuetum, genus acre virorum;
Aut leges & iura ferunt, aut oppida condunt
Fortia, non solùm bello munimina, verùm
Quæ deceant in pace etiam, oblectentq. quietos.
Quid sacros memorem fontes? quid amœna vireta?
Quid valles ipsis certantes frugiferacis
Vallibus Æmoniæ? dulces quid vbiq. recessus
Musarum loca, confessu loca digna Dearum?
O patriæ gelidi fontes, ô flumina nota,
O valles, ô antra meis notissima Musis! &c}1595L5Add, 1595L, 1601L, 1602S, 1603L, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end here, not in 1597G5Add, 1598/1610/1613D & 1602G}.
95.19. {1606E & 1608/1612I only{In English/Italian prose briefly, this much: Hessen, in nature of its soil and temperature of its air is a country of all the world most similar to Thrace. This is so, because it is much covered by many tall and stately woods, beset and enclosed with the snow-topped mountains Hemus, Rhodope, Pangæus and Cercina, watered and fed by the chilly and frozen streaming rivers Hebrus, Nessui and Strimon.
95.20. It breeds a hardy kind of people, fit for all kinds of service and toilsome travel. Here, as if they were descended from mighty Mars, their chief delight is war making, [as] no other kind of life pleases them half so well, nay, they think that otherwise there is no life at all, or at least not [a kind of life] worth living for a man enjoying martial feats and deeds of arms. Yet, if all is quiet and Mars sleeps, they cannot stand to live in idleness and to spend their time at home.
95.21. So they either give themselves to farming and follow the plough, (for here the large and open excellent grounds with great advantage repay the farmers tenure and toils) or else, by hawking and hunting through thick and thin, in the darkest woods and most bushy forests over hedge and ditch, over the highest hills and lowest valleys follow their game most laboriously. Others take as great pains in commanding and ruling the commonwealth, ending controversies and seeing that the laws are duly observed and carried out. Others busy themselves in building and fortifying cities, making them not only strong against assault and battery of the enemy in time of war, but also gorgeous and beautiful to the great delight and astonishment of the beholders in time of peace.
95.22. What should I say about the excellent wholesome springs, the pleasant green meadows, pastures and valleys which in fruitfulness may justly contend with those of Æmonia, that fertile country in Greece so much recommended by poets and historians? Of the various and manifold pleasures and delightful places, brooks and clear running waters of this country? &c}1606E & 1608/1612I only which end here}.